National Zoo Opens Phase I of Elephant Trails -- New Home for Asian Elephants:
The Smithsonian’s National Zoo celebrated the completion of Phase I of Elephant Trails, an innovative and expanded home for Asian elephants, Sept. 2. Phase I has four elements: a new elephant barn, two new outdoor yards, the Elephant Exercise Trek and The Homer and Martha Gudelsky Elephant Outpost. The Zoo’s goal is to ensure a future for this endangered species, which could soon be extinct in the wild and in zoos. Phase I of Elephant Trails will be open to Zoo visitors Friday, Sept. 3.
The final phase of the exhibit, which includes a complete renovation of the Elephant House, is scheduled to open in 2013.
Elephant Trails will provide the Zoo’s current and future elephants with a variety of indoor and outdoor habitats that support the natural behavior of a multigenerational herd. The total cost of the new elephant habitat (Phase I and II) is estimated at $52 million—a combination of federal funds and private donations.
“The transformation of the Zoo’s home for its Asian elephants is not merely a facelift or simple upgrade of the habitat that was built in the 1930s,” said Dennis Kelly, director of the Zoo. “This massive renovation over a number of years reflects the Zoo’s cutting-edge animal care, breeding, education and scientific research program designed to help elephant experts and scientists better care for elephants in zoos, while saving these endangered, beloved animals in the wild.”
Today, a newly built barn provides more than 5,700 square feet of livable space for the animals and replaces the old Elephant House as their primary living space. Currently the barn, which is not open to the public, houses the Zoo’s three Asian elephants: females Ambika, 62, and Shanthi, 34, and S ...More...
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